Floora Ruokonen Ethics and Aesthetics Intersections in Iris Murdoch’s Philosophy ISSN 1458-8331 ISBN 978-952-10-5118-0 (paperback) ISBN 978-952-10-5128-9 (PDF) Yliopistopaino Helsinki 2008 Contents Acknowledgements 7 List of Publications 9 List of Abbreviations 11 I Introduction 13 1. Preface 13 2. Ethics and Aesthetics 15 3. Earlier Studies of Murdoch’s Philosophy and the Method of This Study 21 4. Murdoch’s Philosophy in a Few Broad Brush Strokes 26 4.1. Consciousness and Inner Experience 28 4.2. Will and Morality 31 4.3. The Idea of Perfection: Murdochian Moral Realism 38 4.4. Imagination 46 5. The Argument of the Thesis and Summaries of the Articles 51 6. Conclusions 65 References 67 II Articles Acknowledgements The research for this thesis was carried out at the Department of Social and Moral Philosophy of the University of Helsinki. I am grateful to Professor Timo Airaksinen and Dr. Heta Gylling for su- pervising my work. I also thank Professor Airaksinen for employing me in his project In Institutions We Trust. An important part of this thesis was written in that project. Professors Richard Shusterman and Dan Lloyd gave me invalu- able advice and support at critical moments in the writing of this thesis, for which I am very grateful. The comments from the official referees of my thesis, Dr. Leila Toiviainen and Professor Arto Haa- pala, provided me with the necessary self-confidence for bringing the process to its end. I sincerely appreciate this. A host of colleagues and friends have helped me in writing this thesis. I especially thank Nora Hämäläinen, Matti Häyry, Katri Kaali- koski, Marjaana Kopperi, Petter Korkman, Martti Kuokkanen, Anu Kuusela, Marjukka Laakso, Kate Larson, Juhana Lemetti, Olli Lou- kola, Ville Paukkonen, Sami Pihlström, Susanna Snell, Tuija Takala, Risto Vilkko, Laura Werner, and all the members of the Hege reading group as well as the philosophy doctoral students’ reading seminar at the University of Helsinki for valuable comments and discussions. I thank Professor Tuomas Mäntynen for the cover illustration, Janne Hiipakka, Jaakko Pitkänen, and Julius Telivuo for helping me with translations, Godfrey Weldhen for revising my English, Auli Kai- painen and Joel Luostarinen for their excellent editorial work, and Tuula Pietilä and Karolina Kokko-Uusitalo for their help with nu- merous practicalities. I also owe thanks to the students of my courses and seminars. Their questions, comments and papers have taught me a lot and helped me to clarify my own thoughts. Acknowledgements 8 I have been privileged to share an office with such supportive colleagues as Pekka Mäkelä, Teemu Toppinen, and Simo Vehmas. In addition to the invaluable academic assistance I have received from them, they have spoiled me with their friendliness and witticisms. For all this I am truly grateful. My dear friends Sonja Autio, Johanna Jouhki, Tuomi Kariniemi, and Karita Lassila should be acknowledged when it comes to any- thing I might accomplish. I thank them for their unfailing support and encouragement, but also for the challenges and provocations that have inspired me so much. Very special thanks are due to my parents Marjut and Jorma Ruokonen and my brother Roope Ruokonen for their constant faith in me. The emotional and material generosity of my parents has had a very concrete impact on the finishing of this thesis. My most heartfelt gratitude is due to my husband Risto Vilkko and my daughter Taimi Vilkko. Without the relentless encouragement of these two this thesis would not exist. I thank Taimi for reminding me that she would prefer her mother to have a doctoral degree and I thank Risto for being a real-life example of the virtues of patience and unselfish devotion which I can only write about. The financial support provided for this work by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, Alfred Kordelin’s Foundation, The Academy of Finland, and the University of Helsinki is gratefully acknowledged. List of Publications I “Sielun hyvyys ja hahmon kauneus. 1700-luvun tulkintoja kalo- kagathiasta”. Ajatus, Suomen Filosofisen Yhdistyksen vuosikirja 52, Helsinki, 1996, pp. 147–162. II “Tuulihaukan tarkkailua. Kauneuden merkityksestä Iris Mur- dochin moraalifilosofiassa”. Ajatus, Suomen Filosofisen Yhdistyk- sen vuosikirja 56, Helsinki, 1999, pp. 161–178. III “Iris Murdoch on Love and the Sublime”. In: Philosophical As- pects on Emotions, Åsa Carlson (ed.), Thales, Stockholm, 2005, pp. 83–95. IV “Good, Self, and Unselfing. Reflections on Iris Murdoch’s Moral Philosophy”. In: Personen. Ein Interdisziplinärer Dialog, Bei- träge des 25. Internationalen Wittgenstein Symposiums, Band X, Christian Kanzian, Josef Quitterer & Edmund Runggaldier (eds.), Beiträge der Österreichischen Ludwig Wittgenstein Gesellschaft, Wien, 2002, pp. 211–213. V “Käytännön kokemuksesta kohti hyvää Iris Murdochin moraa- lifilosofiassa”. In Käytäntö, Suomen Filosofisen Yhdistyksen Käytäntö-kollokvion esitelmät, Sami Pihlström, Kristina Rolin & Floora Ruokonen (eds.), Yliopistopaino, Helsinki, 2002, pp. 145–154. VI “Iris Murdoch and the Extraordinary Ambiguity of Art”. The Journal of Value Inquiry, Vol. 42, No. 1, 2008, pp. 77–90. VII “Building Trust: A Fairly Honourable Defeat”. Sats – Nordic Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2008, pp. 46–68. Abbreviations of Works by Iris Murdoch ME Metaphysics and Ethics MGM Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals NP Nostalgia for the Particular S The Sovereignty of Good SB The Sublime and the Beautiful Revisited SG The Sublime and the Good TL Thinking and Language VC Vision and Choice in Morality [...]... relationship of ethics and aesthetics, Murdoch’s philosophy is clearly an important contribution to contemporary Introduction 15 discussion The aim of this thesis is to justify this conviction in addition to proving that for an accurate understanding of Murdoch’s philosophy one needs to be clear on how she sees the relationship between ethics and aesthetics 2 Ethics and Aesthetics Murdoch’s philosophy has... consciousness “Vision and Choice in Morality” and “Metaphysics and Ethics from the years 1956 and 1957 incorporate these reflections in a discussion of the nature of morality I begin by reviewing the main themes of these articles and then move on to a discussion of the idea of perfection as a unifying principle of both consciousness and moral reflection “Thinking and Language” and “Nostalgia for the... writings 4 Murdoch’s Philosophy in a Few Broad Brush Strokes “She moves on the noumenal level and makes these occasional descents into the phenomenal level”, was Sir Isaiah Berlin’s comment on Iris Murdoch’s friend Professor David Pears’ account of how he was sitting in a train departing from New York’s Grand Central Station to New Haven in 1959, when suddenly, as the train started to roll, he saw Iris. .. life In this conception, sensibility rather than principles and vision rather than will is emphasised Ethical progress and aesthetic experiences are discussed as interwoven phenomena Murdoch’s own career both as a philosopher and renowned novelist – she published 26 novels during her life – gives an interesting background to her thoughts on the intersections of ethics and aesthetics Her insights into... to lay out the main structures of her philosophy so as to point out the intersections of ethics and aesthetics in it as clearly as possible, a detailed discussion of some issues that might be the subject of criticism will have to await a future study My aim here has been to be true to the spirit of Murdoch’s thinking in the sense that philosophical thinking is not solely about reaching conclusive arguments... facing up to the frailty and transience of the human condition and aspiring to comprehend something transcending that condition She visions the idea of the Good which brings unity to virtues and human experience as ultimately undefinable and thus unreachable The Good is a motivating, transcendent principle which compels to try to do and to be good Yet as limited beings we are doomed to fail in attending... ‘Good’”, and “The Sovereignty of Good over Other Concepts” in the years 1964, 1969, and 1967 respectively Finally, the main source for the discussion of the place of imagination in moral life is Murdoch’s last philosophical work, the lengthy and intricate Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals from 1990 The chronological structure of the introduction is meant to emphasise the continuity in Murdoch’s thinking... realistic view of its contingency and pointlessness 3 Earlier Studies of Murdoch’s Philosophy and the Method of This Study Although Murdoch has not received the attention she deserves in the discussion on the relationship between aesthetics and ethics, her thinking as such has been increasingly acknowledged in the recent years She is often mentioned as a pioneer of many prominent currents of contemporary... the target of criticism since its heyday, and nowadays philosophers do not tend to be as stringent on inner experience as, for example, Ryle However, a short review Introduction 29 of Murdoch’s criticism serves here to help us understand the groundings of her moral philosophy In “Thinking and Language” Murdoch describes her idea of ‘thinking’ as a “private activity that goes on in our heads” (TL, 33)... this claim In her view language and thinking are not coextensive (TL, 35) Thinking is verbal only partly What can be called ‘inward speech’ occurs with a frame of mind which makes the words in thought occur as they do, with a certain force or colour, depending on the particular thought (ibid 34) Thought may contain fully verbalised components as well as indescribable and pliant images and in between . published 26 novels during her life – gives an interesting background to her thoughts on the intersections of ethics and aesthetics. Her insights into the relations. goodness and beauty, and, consequently, between aesthetics and ethics. It discusses the various ways in which ethical and aesthetic themes intersect in the